Speak Out!

A recent study found that watching television raises blood pressure in obese children:

Watching too much television may not only help make children fat, it may also raise their blood pressure, U.S.

Iraq has faded dramatically on all the network newscasts, except for a brief "comeback" after the 4,000th American died in the war and renewed fighting broke out in Basra and, again, following the update from Gen. Petraeus. Have people in the U.S. lost interest in the Iraq war, in deference to other issues, such as the economy and the presidential race?

While Congress and the administration grapple with whether, and how, to deal with the growing number of defaults on home mortgages, a Los Angeles Times article addresses the issue of who should get aid:

The House and Senate are beginning to consider proposals for federal intervention on a massive scale.

Media are buzzing about a thwarted plot by a group of Georgia 3rd-graders to attack their teacher:

A group of third-graders plotted to attack their teacher, bringing a broken steak knife, handcuffs, duct tape and other items for the job and assigning children tasks including covering the windows and cleaning up afterward, police said Tuesday. The children, ages 8 and 9, were apparently mad at the teacher because she had scolded one of them for standing on a chair…A prosecutor said they are too young to be c

A recent AP story reported on the possible lingering impact on a new generation of Blacks of the government's infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study. It specifically looked at a possible role of the experiment in Blacks' participation (or not) in clinical trials:

Two separate studies by Johns Hopkins University physicians took opposing sides on whether the Tuskegee experiment remains a significant factor in turning blacks away from clinical trials at a greater rate than whites.

The "Viewer Discretion" post in the Young Voices blog section of our TV show site [scroll down a bit on that blog page to March 16, 2008] addresses the issue of editing certain words in films that air on the tube:

Some films that air on cable have content that is at times a bit obscene, offensive or abrasive, and as such usually get edited out.

The USA Today Op-Ed section recently tackled a debate on school choice.

Various polls have suggested that voters seem to be turned off by negative campaign ads. Yet, that hasn't stopped presidential candidates from using such tactics.

In the weeks since the Super Tuesday contests on February 5, Clinton has lost 11 contests in a row... Her campaign has responded by going increasingly negative, criticizing Obama… Indeed, the Clinton campaign has just released a negative TV ad that blasts Obama on that last point. These hits have not gone unanswered.

If the FEMA debacle in the aftermath of the Gulf Coast hurricanes is any example, can the federal government successfully implement universal health care?

Why are many parents clueless when their kids are into drugs and/or violence?